[Limelight] Ryu Seung-ryong's Evil Asks... Are We Truly Different?

Portraying a Grave Robber as a Construction Foreman
"Evil Acts as an Extension of Daily Life Are More Frightening"
A Restrained Performance as a Mirror of the Times

In the Disney+ series 'Pine,' Oh Gwansuk (played by Ryu Seung-ryong) is driven to crime by poverty. At first, his desperate desire not to go hungry leads him to steal daily necessities such as rice and soy sauce. However, theft soon becomes a habit, pushing him toward even greater crimes.

Disney+ 'Pine' Still Cuts

Ryu Seung-ryong portrays Oh Gwansuk as a diligent worker succumbing to desire. Scenes where he tries to salvage even one more piece of pottery from the sea off the coast of Shinan are depicted more like a foreman at a construction site than a grave robber. On the fishing boat, with a determined expression and a deep voice, he demands seamless teamwork from his colleagues. He does not hesitate to praise those who achieve good results.

In a recent interview with Asia Economy, Ryu Seung-ryong remarked, "Oh Gwansuk is not absolute evil. He is simply someone whose desires keep growing, like a snowball rolling downhill," adding, "If that process were exaggerated or depicted as monstrous, it could undermine the drama's central message."

'Pine' is a work that dissects the true nature of desire in Korean society during the 1970s. It reveals a snapshot of a time when even individual desires were subsumed by the national projects of modernization and economic growth.

At the forefront is Oh Gwansuk, a character who embodies the universal desires held by many during that era. His story recalls a history in which the instinct for personal survival was transformed into desire.

Ryu Seung-ryong willingly became a device reflecting the spirit of the times. With an ordinary face and restrained performance, he acts as a mirror reflecting the inner lives of everyday people, capturing traces of desire one by one. He paid particular attention to the process in which the justification of supporting one's family gradually devolves into a tool for self-rationalization.

Disney+ 'Pine' Still Cuts

He said, "I felt it was important to appear as someone you might see around you in daily life, so viewers could relate to him realistically," adding, "It was crucial to evoke empathy, making people think, 'If I were in that situation, I might do the same.'"

This portrayal of the ordinariness of evil is reminiscent of the concept of the "banality of evil" mentioned by German philosopher Hannah Arendt in 'Eichmann in Jerusalem.' It is the image of an ordinary person gradually corrupted by adapting to circumstances.

A representative example is the scene where Oh Gwansuk murders Im Jeonchul (Kim Sung-oh) while diving with Captain Hwang (Hong Ki-joon). The previously confident look on his face disappears. When Im Jeonchul surfaces, Oh Gwansuk panics, unsure of what to do. He barely regains his composure and fetches a hammer but is preoccupied with following Captain Hwang's orders.

Ryu Seung-ryong commented, "It was an ironic experience that heightened realism through crude actions," adding, "Sometimes, revealing evil as a natural extension of daily life, rather than exaggerating it, evokes greater fear in viewers."

This 'ordinary evil' can appear at any time, even today, as economic inequality and competition for survival intensify. Ryu Seung-ryong's restrained performance ultimately poses a question to all of us: "Are we truly any different from Oh Gwansuk?"